BACK PAGE, P18 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P3 TO BE LARGEST FOR THE CENTURY INDIA’S FIRST TRANSSHIPMENT PORT KP SHARMA OLI SET TO ASSUME OFFICE India's population to peak at 1.7 billion in early 2060s, then fall Adani Group to double new port funding to `20,000 crore Nepal PM loses vote of confidence after 19 months in power CHENNAI/KOCHI, SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 58, 18 PAGES, `12.00 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 80,519.38 ▲ 622.04 NIFTY: 24,502.15 ▲ 186.20 NIKKEI 225: 41,190.68 ▼ 1,033.34 HANG SENG: 18,293.38 ▲ 461.05 `/$: 83.54 ▲ 0.03 `/€: 90.93 ▼ 0.29 BRENT: $85.57 ▲ $0.17 GOLD: `72,743 ▲ `219 THE CENTRE PLANS to overhaul more than 200 state-run firms to make them more profitable, signalling a departure from an aggressive privatisation programme that has struggled to take off, government sources told Reuters. ■ PAGE 2 FOREX RESERVES ATALL-TIME HIGH OF $657.2 BILLION FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES rose by $5.2 billion to hit an all-time high of $657.2 billion in the week ended July 5, latest data from RBI showed on Friday. Forex reserves fell $1.7 billion to nearly $652 billion in the week ended June 28. ■ PAGE 7 COAL INDIAWIDENS E-AUCTION WINDOW TO BOOST SUPPLIES STATE-RUN COAL India has slashed the earnest money deposit for e-auction of the dry fuel from `500 to `150 per tonne, while ramping up the quantities offered under the route, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 2 FE S P E C I A L Is Mercedes-Benz EQA all the luxury EVyou’ll ever need? It’s good, but competitors offer more space and comfort for similar money ■ MOTOBAHN, P9 AN INVESTIGATION BYtheCompetitionCommission of India (CCI) has found that Apple exploited its dominant position in the market for app stores on its iOS operating system, engaging “in abusive conduct and practices”, a confidential report seen by Reuters showed. The CCI has been investigatingApple since 2021 for possibly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietaryin-app purchase system. Applehasdeniedwrongdoing,sayingitwas a small player in India where phones that use Google’s Android system are dominant. The CCI’s investigations unit, in its 142page report, said Apple wields “significant influence” over how digital products and services reach consumers, especially through its iOS platform and App Store. “AppleApp Store is an unavoidable trading partner for app developers, and resultantly, app developers have no choice but to adhere to Apple’sunfairterms,includingthemandatory use ofApple’s proprietarybilling and payment system,”theCCIunitsaidintheJune24report. “Fromtheperspectiveofappdevelopers,Apple ■ Apple has denied any wrongdoing, says it is a small player in India ■ iPhone maker faces increased antitrust scrutiny in other countries iOS ecosystem is indispensable,”it added. Apple and the CCI did not respond to requests for comment. TheinvestigationreportcomesasApplefaces increased antitrust scrutinyin otherregions. Continued on Page 6 July 11, 2024 (close) 24,387.95 24,315.95 July 11 (close) week 0.7% higher. The Sensex hit a fresh lifetime high of 80,893.51 during the day, while the Nifty touched 24,592.20. 24,502.15 RETAIL INFLATION ROSE to a four-month high of 5.08% in June,pushed up bya further spurt in already-elevated prices ofvegetables and fruits amid heatwaves that struck many parts of the country during the month, and the firmness of cereal prices,official data showed on Friday. The headline print INSIDE was on the higher side of expectations,andbucked Industrial output growth a declining trend seen since December 2023. at 7-month In May, inflation at high ■ PAGE 2 the retail level,measured by the consumer price index (CPI),came in 4.8%,and in June 2023,it was at 4.87%. However,the inflation rate is likely to see a sharp moderation in Julyto around 3% forthe sole reason of averyhigh base (7.44%),even if price pressures remain broadly unchanged. That,however,could be a transient reprieve. The latest datawere in conformitywith the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) observation in SEEING A SPIKE (% change, y-o-y) 12 CPI CPI core HCLTech profit up 7%, beats estimates Keeps FY25 guidance unchanged at 3-5% PADMINI DHRUVARAJ Bengaluru, July 12 HCLTECH ON FRIDAY posted a near 2% sequential decline in its topline at `28,057 crore in the April-June quarter on the back of weakness in the IT services & engineering and R&D services segments. However, the IT services company’s consolidated net profit rose 7% quarteron-quarter to `4,257 crore, aided by an increase in other income and a small decline in expenditure. The company’s topline as well as the bottomline came in above Bloomberg consensus estimates. HCLTech also retained its year-onyear revenue guidance for FY25 at 3-5% in constant currency terms and its operating margin around 18-19%. Continued on Page 6 ■ Headcount drops by over 8,000 in June quarter, Page 4 REPORT CARD HCLTech consolidated financials (` cr) Q4FY24 Q1FY25 Ebitda % change q-o-q margin (%) Revenue Ebitda 1.6 5.3 21.5 20.6 Net profit Net profit margin (%) 6.8 CPI food 8 5.16 5.1 6 4 2 4.55 4.87 Jun 2023 Source: MoSPI 3.2 Jun 2024 its bimonthly monetary policy statement in June that the path of disinflation, driven by softening in its core component, has been interrupted by “volatile and elevated food inflation due to adverse weather events”. Continued on Page 6 ● SUDHIR SITAPATI, MD & CEO, GODREJ CONSUMER ‘Time has come for rural stimulus’ The domestic fast-moving consumergoods (FMCG) market requires a quickerrecovery in rural areas forit to grow in double digits, SudhirSitapati,managing directorand chiefexecutive officerofGodrej Consumer (GCPL),told Viveat Susan Pinto.He also pointed out that income inequality remains high and distress at the bottom ofthe pyramid must be tackled fast.Excerpts: FMCG companies have been bullish about rural revival.Are you seeing a rural recovery? Forthe last 2-3years,I haven’t been quite sure of a rural revival.Thegreen shoots in rural have not beenvisible.I believe the time has comefora rural stimulusnow.I saythis becausedomestic consumption growth is stagnant at 4%,even as the FY24 gross domesticproduct(GDP) growth stood at 8%.There are a lot of people,especiallyat thebottom of the pyramid,who don’t contribute to the GDPat all.This is showing up in domesticcon- ❝ sumption,which is not onlya measure of consumption but also of equality.The government is cognisant of the need fora consumption revival in rural areas.I am optimistic that byDiwali,wemaysee some rural revival as the government may address these concerns in the Budget. What can the Budget do to deal with rural distress? I hope the government can put more money in the hands of farmers and rural consumers through schemes such as PM-KisanYojana ora universal basic income.This segmenthas to be stimulated and I find that stakeholders todayin government and industryare on the same page on this. Lookat the & I HOPE THATTHE GOVERNMENT CAN PUT MORE MONEY IN THE HANDS OF FARMERS AND RURAL CONSUMERS THROUGH SCHEMES SUCH AS PM-KISAN YOJANA OR A UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME 0.1 Continued on Page 6 9.36 10 3.2 Apart from theTCS earnings,positive US inflation numberalso aided ITstocks. CPI inflation at 4-month high on costlier food FE BUREAU New Delhi, July 12 Energy 0.2 Oil & gas 0.1 3.3 Close 1.6 0.77% Open (July 12) 3.2 Top Sensex gainers (%) HCL Tech Tech Mahindra Axis Bank 79,897.34 FMCG 4.3 IT NIFTY TECK 80,093.62 Open (July 12) 6.7 3.6 'in abusive conduct and practices' in apps market, says the probe report 0.78% TCS ADITYA KALRA New Delhi, July 12 ■ Apple engaged in ■ Says company wields 'significant influence' over how digital products & services reach consumers, especially via iOS platform and App Store Close Infosys FACING THE HEAT THE BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED earnings of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) gave a strong impetus to benchmark indices on Friday, which closed in the positive for the sixth consecutive week — their longest winning streak this year.Not surprisingly,information technology (IT) companies led the rally,with TCS soaring 6.6% and Tech Mahindra, Infosys,HCLTechnologies andWipro rising 3-5%.In all,74% of the Nifty’s gains of the day came from the IT sector. Both the Nifty and the Sensex ended the day0.8% higher at 24,502.15 points and 80,519.34 points, respectively. With this, the indices closed the volatile SENSEX Top sectoral gainers (%) 80,519.34 3,986 4,257 CENTRE PLANS OVERHAUL OF STATE-RUN FIRMS iPhone maker under investigation since 2021 VIVEK KUMAR M Mumbai, July 12 BULL RUN 5,793 THE SUPREME COURT on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged excise policy scam, but he will remain in jail as the CBI had arrested him in a related matter. ■ PAGE 6 Sensex, Nifty log sixth straight week of gains 6,117 SC GRANTS INTERIM BAILTO KEJRIWAL; TO REMAIN IN JAIL CCI probe finds Apple guilty of abusing position IT powers D-Street rally 28,057 NEWS APP STORE DOMINANCE 28,499 IN THE pattern on discretionaryspends.The top 20% of India are spending on cars,luxury goods and high-end homes.There is a boom in discretionaryspendsthere.But in the next 80%,weare seeing stress. Marketresearchisalsopointingtostress inurbanareas.Canconsumptionrevive quicklyinurbanandruralareas? Therearepaintpointsinurban.Butthatis atthebottomofthepyramidagain.There isaneedforafocusedapproachtoreviving consumptionatthebottomofthepyramid inbothurbanandruralareas.Muchofall thisisapost-Covidissue,whichwewere hopingwouldgoaway,buthasn’tyet. How fast can the FMCG market bounce back to double-digit growth? Itwillbeafactorofdomestic consumption.Ifconsumptiongrowthis4%,FMCG growthis1.1-1.2times domesticconsumption, whichis4.4-4.8%.Ifconsumptiongrowthgoesup, sowillFMCGconsumption.Butthecatchhereis thatlowerincome groupsalsohavetobea partofthisgrowthcycle forFMCGtogetbackto double-digitgrowth. CHENNAI/KOCHI 14.0 15.2